Thanks for the bad language Toy Story

Thanks for the bad language Toy Story!
I didn’t think I would have to deal with swearing at this young age. My two boys are almost 2 and 4, I thought this was a while away yet! My husband and I are both very careful about our language in front of the children – it is something that I feel strongly about…….and while traditional swear words have yet to make an appearance in our children’s vocabulary, a few other not-nice words have started creeping in.
The first occasion he yelled at our dog.
Stupid dog!
It was such a shock to hear these words come out of the mouth of our cherubic son! We did exactly what they say NOT to do – we yelled and made a fuss about how he should never say that……….that it wasn’t very nice……….of course that made him want to say it some more.
The next occasion he was pretending to be a dog and was yelling it at himself! We tried to remember where he would have heard this – did we slip up, have we yelled this at the dog? Did he hear someone else say it?………..and then as if on cue we heard him say something much worse………
He told his brother to “shut up”! I was floored!
While it may be a common phrase in an adult’s vocabulary, hearing it come out of the mouth of such a little boy was horrible…….and not the kind of thing we want to expose DS1 to either. The reaction was fierce, and I was left questioning the right way to handle these words. I had always heard that no reaction to swearing was best – if they don’t get a reaction they will be less likely to say it again!
But…….we were unprepared, hadn’t discussed it, or come up with a plan as to how to deal with it……..then we worked out where all this was coming from!
A movie! Toy Story to be exact. Stupid Dog! Shut Up!…….and Idiot! all feature in the movie. I was left feeling ashamed that I had not paid more attention, and annoyed that I had been the one that had enabled this……….I was angry that a film, marketed to children, features this language!
While adults may not bat an eyelid at these words, should we really be exposing our kids to them in the form of children’s entertainment? Now there is a new debate in our house – do we stop showing this movie? As much as we try and keep it away from them, that horse has pretty much bolted – they have fallen in love with Woody and the gang.
We no longer suggest this movie and keep it hidden away…………..but that doesn’t stop them asking for it!
I am not naive – I know they will say these words and worse as they grow up. I am sure they will grow into adult men that swear like sailors.
But can’t we just keep them as innocent children for as long as we can? What do you think? What are your experiences with bad language or swearing with your children? Do you think children’s movies need to be more closely monitored for language like this?
Thanks for the bad language Toy Story